Susie: The life and legacy of Susannah Spurgeon - by Ray Rhodes Jr.

When I heard that there was a new biography coming out about Charles Spurgeon's wife, Susannah, I was quite interested, eager for it to come out.  I've read a short biography of Susannah before, but this one, Susie: The life and legacy of Susannah Spurgeon by Ray Rhodes Jr. Is a larger and  I thought it would be  neat to know more about her.  

The cover is beautiful looking, is hardcover (which to me is quite a plus), and it feels like very good quality. I read it out loud with my sister, thinking that we would enjoy it together…not so.  It dragged, and the timeline just seemed all over the place.  I was very disappointed with this biography. I am very sorry to have to sound harsh, but this is probably the worst written biography I've ever read. I don't think I've ever read one written like this before.  It just seemed like a book that recycles some facts over, and over, and over and over again.  Past events are repeatedly (not just once or twice) referred to, as though you forgot that they happened. And it just seemed to make it worse that IMMEDIATELY after some of the  quotations of Charles and Susie, the author would summarize what they said (which usually was very clear) and also requote sections in the summary itself. Often I like some repetition in biographies, but this is absurd.

We got about three quarters of the way through the book and just called it quits as it was so agonizing to plod through and it looked as though the rest would be the same way.   It is not better than the old book, and doesn't really seem to add anything new, it just seemed to use repetition to make the account longer. The smaller biography by Charles Ray is much, much better.  

I feel bad, I really wanted to like this biography, but simply couldn't.  

Thanks to Moody Publishers for sending me a free review copy of this book (My review did not have to be favorable).


My Rating: 1 out of 5 Stars
*
This book may be purchased at Amazon.com and Christianbook.com

Made for the Journey - By Elisabeth Elliot

Made for the Journey by Elizabeth Elliot is an account of her first year as a missionary to Ecuador.  I've read it before as it was previously published as These Strange Ashes. 

Elliot started her missionary full of excitement and triumphal expectation.  She was heading out the jungle to attempt to learn the Colorado Indian language in order to reduce it to writing and translate the Bible into that language. There is a note of underlying criticism throughout of the 'traditional' missionary way of doing things. Having started her work, she fights to have success in even figuring out the language.  She combats laziness in herself, but does start making some progress with the language.  Then everything falls apart.  People die, in tragic ways, including her main language informant.  She has difficulty continuing the study, but does have a good amount of language information to leave with those who would stay while she moved on to different work.  And then, after she leaves, the suitcase she entrusted to the missionary left behind with all (yes, ALL) of the language information is stolen and never recovered.  All of her work seemingly for nothing.

Elliot grappled with the thought, does God actually want these people saved? She came face to face with the sovereignty of God.  As she comments, "Faith's most severe tests come not when we see nothing but when we see a stunning array of evidence that seems to prove our faith vain." Now, I want to note here that though Elliot seems to believe in the overall sovereignty of God, she seems to have some trouble with the particular sovereignty of God, God's work inside of us. At the beginning of the book, in contemplating mankind she says, "Why did He give them in the first place freedom of will, power to choose, when surely He knew that their choices would be evil?...The power to exercise the will has been delegated to us and God will not usurp it."  But God does usurp our wills.  Changing someone into a completely new person is a very drastic act, a very personally invasive act. When we become Christians God changes our will, He makes us New Creations (2 Corinthians 5:17), we are taken out of slavery to sin and we become the slaves of God(Romans 6:22).  I think that Elliot unconsciously acknowledges this in her writings as she seems to contradict herself in places.

There are a few other things I had trouble with, for instance, she talks about the hard part of a missionary trying to figure out how to convert people to Christianity without changing their culture.  I don't completely understand this fear of changing the culture of those we witness to.  Yes, we don’t want to convert people to our ethnic culture, but the culture of those who convert to Christianity will inevitably change. For instance, If people have a culture where they do not wear clothes, they will find in the Bible that God is the One who instituted the wearing of clothing. They will realize that wearing clothing is an acknowledgement of humanity's fallenness. That after the Fall, public nakedness is presented in the Bible as a shameful thing.  Even after we become Christians, though our inner man is renewed, our outward flesh is not yet glorified (2 Cor 4:16, Rom 8:10-11,23).  Though, interestingly, it looks as though clothing will be worn even in the New Heaven and new earth (Rev 6:11, 7:9).  Any practice of any particular culture that is not in accordance with God's will, will disappear in the lives of people who grow in Christlikeness.  And that's not a bad thing.

That said, I still really liked this book.  I just needed to get those things out of my system.  Elliot writes very, very well and really pulls you into the account. You feel as though you are in the jungle with her, experiencing her excitement, exhaustion and confusion. You can "see" and "feel", as it were, the jungle around you and the strange sites and the different people she comes in contact with, her descriptions are so vivid. She portrays clearly her own bewilderment with the acts of God in her work as a missionary, but then pulls the perspective back to submission to God's sovereignty and rightness, whether or not one sees the "why" or the "rightness" of things, we believe in the righteousness of the God who allowed them and so submit. I'll end with a quote from the book, "Faith, prayer, and obedience are our requirements.  We are not offered in exchange immunity and exemption from the world's woes.  What we are offered has to do with another world altogether."

Many thanks to the folks at Revell Reads (A division of Baker Publishing Group) for sending me a free review copy of this book! (My review did not have to be favorable)

My Rating:  5 out of 5 Stars

*****

This book may be purchased at Christianbook.com and Amazon.com

Christmas Gift Ideas for Christian Book Lovers

Fiction

Polycarp: a destroyer of our gods 

- By Rick Lambert

This book will work even for those who don't normally read novels, as it's not just fiction, it is also instructive and edifying, it's like a book on spiritual growth only in the format of a novel. Most novels are entertaining, carrying you along by the emotions and imagination and, although they are certainly enjoyable to read, it is a bit discouraging that, when one is done with them, one is left with the feeling of having catered to oneself rather than having grown in any way. This book is an edifying novel, wherein you learn along with the main character rather than merely being an observer of him and the different events in his life. You are carried along by a desire to learn, not merely a desire to be entertained. While most novels inspire you to read more novels, this one inspires you to read God’s word. Instead of making you want to live in a different time, a different place, have a romance, an adventure, become an admired hero, this book inspires you to get out into the fray of your own battles and discover the lessons promoting spiritual growth that God has for you in your own life. I highly recommend it as, not just a good read, but an inspiring one. It gives an illustration of the life of a Christian living out the reality of victory over sin and death that Christ has provided for him. Read My Full Review

This book may be purchased at Amazon.com 

The Holy War 

- By John Bunyan

This is a fascinating allegory. Personally, I think that it is better than A Pilgrim's Progress. One of my uncles introduced me to it when I was a young teenager. I've loved it ever since. The town of Mansoul is taken over (with the peoples' consent) by an evil tyrant named Diabolus and his cohorts. The secondary rulers of the town, native townsmen like Lord WIllbeWill and Mr. Mind are compliant with all of his changes. The rightful King's Son, Prince Emmanuel comes and fights to take the town back, ultimately succeeding, banishing Diabolous and and changing nature of the townspeople within. The rest of the book deals with the townspeople's fickleness and their wars against the flesh (they are supposed to put to death the remaining diabolinians who live in the city walls)and they face foes like the army of "Election Doubters", the army of "Vocation Doubters"and the "Resurrection Doubters". They also have to contend with individual diabolinians within the town (whom at times they fail to kill and are deceived by) like Mr. Carnal Security. But the Prince is faithful, even when they are not, though they do not understand all of His ways.

I recommend the version that is abridged and updated to modern English.

This book may be purchased at Christianbook.com and at Amazon.com 

Stepping Heavenward 

- By Elizabeth Prentiss

This story is written in the format of a diary, written by a woman named Katherine, who records her life struggles, from young womanhood through much of her married life. She gives the events of various days (sometimes skipping days, months or even years, but giving updates along the way), and writes down many of her inmost thoughts, questions and struggles with sin. She has questions about her salvation and whether or not she is being sanctified. God brings along many different people to teach her and to help her recognize that He really is working in her and making her more Christ like. God also brings along many different trials to grow her spiritually. Kate grows in the Faith, becomes more patient toward others, learns to not trust her own judgement, learns to trust God more and more, learns that whatever trials He ordains for her to face are lovingly ordained to make her more Christ like. The book is very well written and really keeps the attention, or at least it kept mine! Read My Full Review

This book may be purchased at Christianbook.com and at Amazon.com

Biography

Free Grace and Dying Love: 

The Life of Susannah Surgeon

- By Charles Ray and Susannah Spurgeon

This is a rather short biography over Mrs. Spurgeon, but still very interesting and inspiring. Susannah Spurgeon is another example of living for God in whatever circumstances and with whatever limitations He has given you, making the most of the time He has allotted for you. Also, it includes twenty-four little musings that she wrote about Scriptural truths. 

This book may be purchased at Christianbook.com and at Amazon.com

More Love to Thee:

The Life and Letters of Elizabeth Prentiss

- By George Prentiss

This book is about a woman who lived an ordinary life of faith. Not very exciting sounding, is it? Ordinary...what is good about the ordinary? What purpose can be found in it? The most important purpose. God's. Mrs. Prentiss wrote books; that was exceptional. But for the most part, her life was that of a Christian housewife'. Ironically, a life of faith in ordinary circumstances is just as, if not more, extraordinary as a person who exercised faith in extraordinary circumstances. Her husband, George, put this biography together very well. It is very interesting, with excerpts from her diary and letters forming a major part. Even her thoughts on everyday occurrences are insightful and encouraging, found this biography comforting, interesting and thought provoking. We look at exhibitions of faith in all kinds of circumstances, all of them are witnesses to it being worth it. Even the ones who exhibited biblical faith in common circumstances. Knowing the sovereignty of God, we trust that He places us in exactly the right place to exercise faith.  Read My Full Review

This book may be purchased at Christianbook.com and at Amazon.com

(The one I am recommending is the one by her husband George - there seems to be another biography about Elizabeth under the same name)

Hudson Taylor 

Vol 1: In Early Years: The Growth of a Soul 

Vol 2:The Growth of a Work of God

-By Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor

I have read these two volumes some time ago but am now reading them again with two of my sisters. We're very intrigued and fascinated with how God used Taylor and how he grew him and sanctified him. He tried to keep the perspective that God is completely sovereign, and strove to acknowledge it in everything he did. Much of the commentary of the authors (Taylor's son and daughter in-law) is also very nice - they try to keep the perspective of God's working in Taylor's life and all of his circumstances as well.

This book may be purchased at OMF International - You may also be able to find the books on Amazon.com 

Life and Letters of General Thomas J. Jackson: Stonewall Jackson 

- By his wife, Mary Anna Jackson

Very interesting account of this man's life. I loved his example of trust in the sovereignty of God - so much so that he was quite fearless on the battlefield, knowing that his life was in God's hands. 

This book may be purchased at Reformation Heritage Books and at Amazon.com

An Autobiography and Letters of the Author of The Listener, Christ Our Law, Etc..

- By Caroline Fry Wilson

Caroline Fry Wilson, I had never heard of her before, but came across some of her writings while looking for something online.  I became intrigued while skimming through some of her writings and decided to learn more about her.  She was a Christian author writing in the 1800s, who wasn't afraid to delve into theological subjects. The biographical part of this book isn't very large, but is very interesting to see her looking back in retrospect on how God brought her to Himself.  The rest of the book is made up of her letters to various people and is also very, very interesting and edifying. 
This book may be purchased at Amazon.com

Martin Luther

- By Simonetta Carr

Martin Luther by Simonetta Carr is a nice overview of the life of Luther for children. She writes in a way that I think children will easily understand and also manages to simplify explanations of erroneous beliefs of the day as well as important Biblical concepts. I really appreciated that she does not make Luther come across as a hero to be worshiped but rather as a man, saved by God's grace and not his own merit, who was used by God to bring people to a correct knowledge of the Gospel and to point them to the Word of God as the only authority.  Be sure to check out the other biographies in the Christian Biographies for Young Readers Series!  Read My Full Review

This book may be purchased at Christianbook.com and at Amazon.com

Topical

The Language of Salvation: 

Discovering the Riches of What it Means to Be Saved

 - By Victor Kuligin

A friend gave this book to me, otherwise I don't think I'd have ever come across it.  I really like it.  Kuligin does an excellent job of pulling together a biblical picture of salvation, showing that many people miss what Salvation actually is. Salvation, as described in God's Word, has so many intricate details, one can approach it from several different aspects, which Kuligin dives into in this book. I really need to give this one a full review some time. 

This book may be purchased at Christianbook.com and at Amazon.com

The Messianic Hope

- By Michael Rydelnik

How defensible are Old Testament prophecies of Christ? If someone came up to you and declares that, in the Hebrew manuscripts of the OT, Psalm 22:16 does not read, "they pierced my hands and my feet," rather, when it is accurately translated it reads, "like a lion are my hands and feet." What would your answer be? And what if they say that Isaiah 53 was not speaking of a Messiah, but rather of Israel as a suffering servant? Nowadays, too many Christians believe that many, if not all, of the prophecies of the Messiah are only indirect prophecies, not direct prophecies. And many Christians might say that these prophecies are allegorically fulfilled, or that it is perfectly alright for the Holy Spirit , in His inspiration of the Apostles, to change His own prophecies. Others say that many prophecies have a 'double fulfillment', that these prophecies were fulfilled historically, in the prophets' life-time, and that they were fulfilled spiritually by Christ.

Michael Rydelnik offers the best defense I have read on the topic, arguing for the literal/direct fulfillment of Messianic/end time prophecies. I was fascinated by his information on Rashi and his followers, how they influenced, and to some degree instigated, the change from the literal interpretation of the Messianic prophecies, to interpreting these prophecies as having historical fulfillments in the time they were prophesied. In doing this, they countered the Christians' proof texts that Jesus is the Christ. These Jews' claimed to be using a literal hermeneutic, and that the literal interpretation of these prophecies was to view them as historically fulfilled. Read My Full Review

This book may be purchased at Christianbook.com and at Amazon.com

Excellence:  The Character of God and the Pursuit of Scholarly Virtues

By Andreas J. Kostenberger

This book focuses on applying the virtues described in 2 Peter 1:3-11 to Christian scholarship, examining how they ought to be implemented in that vocation.  I found it inspiring and think that it will interest and encourage Christians in a variety of vocations (I found it very interesting and applicable to myself), not just scholars.  This is one of those books I need to write a review of sometime.  Here's a quote from the book,"Spirituality is therefore not an individualistic experience of solitude, defined by the amount of time spent in protracted periods of communion alone with God, but an active obedience to God's commands that practically demonstrates love to others and is integrally involved in Jesus' mission to the world."  

This book may be purchased at Christianbook.com and at Amazon.com

Jesus' Terrible Financial Advice: Flipping the Tables on Peace, Prosperity, and the Pursuit of Happiness 

-by John Thornton

This book, Jesus' Terrible Financial Advice, was in a list of books available for review in the book reviewing program of which I'm a member.   The description of this book caught my attention.  It was described as not being the book that the author, John Thornton, intended to write.  He wanted to write about how his family had gotten to a debt free state and wanted to back it up with biblical principles.  But then He went to the Bible to study the topic and found that Jesus' teachings on money shocked him, they really seemed like irresponsible teachings, teachings that didn't seem like the type of instructions that God would give wise stewards to follow.  He put off writing the book for a long time.   I was intrigued by this information and so I requested the book.  Thornton directs us to think about why Christ came to the earth in the first place, "to glorify His Father".  And all of Jesus' teachings, including his teachings on money, stem from this purpose. God does not need money to get things done, and we Christians do not need money either because God supplies all our needs, and he does not need money to do that.  Read My Full Review

This book may be purchased at Christianbook.com and at Amazon.com

The Forgotten Father

- by Thomas Allan Smail

Recently there seems to have been a trend towards a Christocentric hermeneutic, and an overall focus on Christ altogether in Christian circles. It has been frustrating to see, as the focus of the Bible is more Theocentric. Christ Himself points to the Father! When I saw the title of this book, it intrigued me...that's exactly what I and my dad(a pastor) have been talking about: people forgetting about God the Father. It might surprise you, as it surprised me, to learn that Mr. Smail is a charismatic. His leanings show up more towards the end of the book, so be watching out for that. But even this this is not so 'bad', as he is critical of the movement, desiring it to focused on the Father, not on the Spirit, to be biblical rather than emotionally/needs based(focused on miracles, speaking in tongues). Read My Full Review

This book may be purchased at Christianbook.com and at Amazon.com

Mission Drift: The Unspoken Crisis Facing Leaders, Charities, and Churches
- by Peter Greer and‎ Chris Horst with ‎Anna Haggard 

Why do so many Christian organizations become secular within a generation or two? How does one build a focused ministry that doesn't change its core purpose? Peter Greer and Christ Horst provide some excellent answers in Mission Drift: The Unspoken Crisis Facing Leaders, Charities, and Churches. They have examined and analyzed various ministries, some that have stayed focused on their Gospel focused mission, and some that drifted away from that focus have become secular in focus, not spiritual. They warn that Mission Drift is inevitable unless it is actively fought against.  Read My Full Review

This book may be purchased at Christianbook.com and at Amazon.com 

Daily Readings from The Christian in Complete Armour 

- William Gurnall

I have read a good chunk of the unabridged Christian in Complete Armour by William Gurnall, it is very good but HUGE, you kind of need to plough through it. This book, Daily Readings from The Christian in Complete Armour was an excellent idea!  Breaking it up into small chunks for daily reading makes it a much easier read, and gives you a good taste of Gurnall's great skill of teaching and illustrating various spiritual warfare concepts. The best summary that I can come up with is that this book is like having a spiritual commanding officer giving you a rousing speech each day to be ready to fight the battles to come.  Read My Full Review

This book may be purchased at Christianbook.com and at Amazon.com

Greek

Greek for Everyone: Introductory Greek for Bible Study and Application

- by A. Chadwick Thornhill

Greek for Everyone by A. Chadwick Thornhill presents a unique book on New Testament Greek.  His  stated goal is to have those reading this book learn "Greek in order to become better students of the Scripture rather than students of Greek." The aim of the book is not to "gain reading proficiency but rather are working to establish the ability to use various tools to study the text in Greek".  

And I think that Thornhill accomplishes his goals with this book, he takes you through a basic (though it still seems quite thorough) overview of the various parts of Greek so that you may then use lexicons, parsing guides, and other Greek tools in your Bible study without having to become an expert Greek scholar. Read My Full Review

This book may be purchased at Christianbook.com and at Amazon.com

Eschatology

The Apostles' School of Prophetic Interpretation: With Its History Down to the Present Time

- by Charles Maitland

The Apostles' School of Prophetic Interpretation: With Its History Down to the Present Time - by Charles Maitland is a very fascinating book on prophecy.  Maitland bases his premise on the fact that the Apostles taught Christians verbally and not merely through letters, and that those letters do not contain everything they taught the early Christians.   He cites 2 Thes. 2:15, "So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours. "(2Th 2:15 ASV)  And also uses another verse closely connected with the above to prove his point, speaking of 2 Thess. Ii 5-6.  "…on this point St. Paul and the Thessalonians understood each other:  'Ye know what withholdeth.' And how had they learnt it?  'When I was yet with you I told you these things.'  They knew something not directly expressed in Scripture:  and this knowledge they were told to hand down together with the epistle." Paul told the Thessalonians to hold fast to, and by implication to pass down, what they had been taught, by letter and by the Apostles' verbal teaching.  So Maitland thinks that one of the best ways to study prophecy is to see what many of the Christians of the early church believed in regard to prophecy as they may have learned from the Apostles, or those taught by the Apostles, about certain prophetic interpretations.  This is what the author does in this book, going down through church history to see what the earliest Christians believed and observing and critiquing the deviations from those interpretations that ended up occurring along the way. Read My Full Review

This book may be purchased at Amazon.com Or you can read it for free online on Google Books or on Archive.org

Amillennialism and the Age to Come

- By Matt Waymeyer

Amillennialism and the Age to Come: A Premillennial Critique of the Two-Age Model by Matt Waymeyer is an excellent critique of Amillennialism and, in the process, an excellent defense of Premillennialism. I learned a lot about Amillennialism and grew even more confident (if that's even possible) in the Premillennial view of Scripture. 

Read My Full Review

This book may be purchased at Christianbook.com and at Amazon.com

Israel and the Church: The Origin and Effects of Replacement Theology

- By Ronald E. Diprose

A Fascinating exploration of how replacement theology...or as some nowadays seem to want to call it, "fulfillment theology" came to be and how it affected various aspects of Christian doctrine.  I found the section on "Replacement Theology and Ecclesiology" particularly interesting as it details how the view that Israel is now the church as a whole affected ecclesiastical practices, introducing 'Priests" and the"Eucharist" into the church as they began bringing in Christianized levitical roles.

This book may be purchased at Christianbook.com and at Amazon.com

God's Smuggler - Young Reader's Edition

God's Smuggler by Brother Andrew with John and Elizabeth Sherrill: Young Reader's Edition is quite an interesting read.

It gives you an overview of the life of 'Brother Andrew, as he later became known, he was a Bible smuggler.

Andrew, like everyone, did not start out life as a Christian, he was struggling with life-purpose into his early adulthood.  He became a Christian and had a growing desire for knowledge of the Word of God and an eagerness to put into practice what he learned and to share the Gospel with others.

After becoming a Christian, Andrew became aware of, and concerned with the peril of churches in countries that were under communist rule.  He found that the Bible, in many of those countries, was scarce and hard to obtain, despite the idea being touted by the communists that they promoted freedom of religion.  In some countries there were no Bibles being printed, in others there were plenty of Bibles available but hardly anyone was interested in owning one, and in one country the communists advertised that they were printing their own translation of the Bible, but they delayed its publication and did not allow any other publication of Bibles.  Andrew sees a ministry opportunity in this need for Bibles and starts smuggling Bibles into those countries.  This book details many of the ways that God protected Andrew and his co-workers in their getting the Bibles past the various country borders.

 I do need to mention a couple of things that I didn't feel comfortable with the prophetic 'impressions' that Andrew and other people had about certain things: Feeling positive that God would give a car, or getting a confident thought that God would not let authorities harm them on a certain day.  How does one know that one's confidence is in God at those moments and not merely in one's own feelings/desires? Perhaps this may be considered a drastic example, but what if I am locked up in jail for being a Christian and I'm not given any food.  I will  think that I need food, I may even have an impression that God will supply it, but what if it turns out that God wants me to starve, die and be with Him?  That was my problem, and the fact that Andrew never seemed to believe that God would ever say "no" to anything he asked (like getting a helpmeet for instance).  I know that they didn't mean it this way but it could come across to a kid as if God will give you any material, earth-based thing for which you ask. 

But other than those things I really liked the book.  One of my favorite parts to read was of a time before Andrew became a Bible smuggler.  He went to a missionary training school, and quite a unique one!  The school actually sounded like a real mission school based on faith in God and His provision rather than teaching potential missionaries to solicit people for funds and help.  "The real purpose of this training….is to teach our students that they can trust God to do what He said.  He would do……They cannot be effective if they are afraid or if they doubt that God really means what He says in His Word."   On their practice Evangelistic trips they would be sent out with only one pound, and would rely upon God to supply their needs and His supplying did not merely take the form of money, it also took the form of food and clothes being given at just the right time.  That seems to be a more biblical form of missionary activity than what one sees nowadays, and more faith-based.  I know that all missionaries are not like this, but many come across as if they focus on money  and the help of people   If they really are called to the mission field, God will give the needed supplies even without them going to people for help.   So I was very refreshed to see the perspective of the people in this book in regards to their trust in God to supply all their needs.

 I believe that I would have liked this account a lot as a kid and a teenager.  It was very well written, intriguing and it left me wanting more.  It is quite fascinating to see what God has done in the lives of other Christians and to see the various circumstances God put them in in order to conform them to the image of Christ and to bring the Gospel to other people.   I think that this was an abridgment of the original work and so one can probably find an unabridged copy of this account if one wants to learn more (which I will probably end up doing).

Many thanks to the folks at Cross Focused Reviews for the free review copy! 

A couple of the websites where one may purchase this book are Amazon.com and Christian Book Distributors

   

Alvin York - By Douglas V. Mastriano

Alvin York: A New Biography of the Hero of the Argonne by Douglas V. Mastriano is a very interesting account of the life of this man, of what happened on the battlefield in World War 1 that elevated York, a former pacifist, to fame.

 Alvin York was born into what became a large family, the third of eleven children (the family lived in a one room cabin on a farm by the way!).  His two older brothers where married and had farms of their own when his father died and so York became the head of the family.  After this, despite having been born into a Christian family, York went downhill morally and became a heavy drinker and a gambler, and of course, associated with bad people.  He acknowledged that his sins started small and then these things became controllers of his life.  Change came when York became a Christian and actively put away and resisted his old habits, he truly became a "new creation", a new person. 

When war broke out between the United States and Germany in 1917, Alvin York faced the strong possibility of being drafted.  He had become a pacifist by this time, struggling to reconcile His new found life in service to God and passages in the Bible that he thought indicated that Christians should not physically fight and kill other people, even under the authorization of their own government.  He appealed for exemption from military service, but his appeal was denied and he was called up to serve.  Alvin's pastor encouraged him to trust God in all of this, and Alvin obeyed the draft summons and joined the army.  I thought that it was neat to see his acknowledgement of the sovereignty of God in all of this, making sure to be obedient and serve well in this place where God had placed him, even though to be there was against his own will. 

Still burdened in conscience about killing other people, York finally approached his commanding officer with his concerns, which officer brought him to another officer, and both of them graciously discussed what the Scripture had to say on the subject, York quoting Scriptures that he thought supported pacifism, and the officers bringing him to Scriptures that indicated that the Bible was not against war.  He ended up becoming convinced that it was okay for him to go to war, though perhaps still having some struggles with doubts for a little while afterward.  And so York stays in the fighting of the section of the army, and ends up making the famous capture of 132 German soldiers, which event, and the aftermath of York's life are also recounted by the author. 

I thought that that  Mastriano did a very good job with this biography, it was well written and interesting, and there are many excerpts from York's personal accounts and statements.  At the end of the book, there is as chapter dealing with his research into the spot where the famous event happened, showing pictures of the bullets and giving accounts of other archaeological evidence confirming the location, and York's account, of the event.

 I also liked many of the little details that are given, such as where it is noted that York's wife Gracie did not like the part in the movie that ended up being made about York where she and York are seen  kissing before they are married - which they apparently did not do in real life.   And as another example, I was especially surprised to find out that part  of the motivation for the particular attack on the Germans, in which York's division participated (and in which York became famous), was to free 'The Lost Battalion.'

York was a very interesting and principled Christian man, and humble as well as is evidenced in his endeavor to honor those men who were with him and give the credit to the Lord for what he was enabled to do.   This is an inspiring biography. 

Many thanks to the folks at the University Press of Kentucky for sending me a free review copy of this book (the review did not have to be positive)

My Rating:  5 out of 5 stars

*****

One of the places where this book may be purchased is at Amazon.com

My Rating:  5 out of 5 stars

*****

One of the places where this book may be purchased is at Amazon.com